Changes: A Harry Potter Story
by IcarusFalling23
Summary: After a visit to the zoo and a particular python, Harry Potter is Changing. Having never received his Hogwarts letter, he's in for a big surprise when he learns that magic exists. HP/DM, manipulativeDumbles, kindDraco, imprisonedHarry, cluelessGriffindors
1. Chapter 1

Harry had never been to the zoo before. Now, at Dudley's 15th birthday, they were going to the London Zoo. His cousin Dudley had already yawned over the polar bears, spit at the tigers, and whined at his father to wake the sleeping python. Vernon Dursley chuckled over his son's antics while reminding Harry, the "freak", to back away lest people think they were related. Harry complied, finding much better company in the sleeping python.

With the snake, there were no punches to dodge, or orders to follow: only blissful silence on the other side of a three-inch thick sheet of glass. As Harry watched, the snake slowly opened one of its eyes and flicked out its tongue. It regarded him sleepily, decided he wasn't a threat, and went back to sleep. Vernon wandered over to Dudley's side and draped his arm around the large boy. Harry looked at the pair of them, wondering when a zoo official would take away the escaped whales…

Dudley spotted Harry and decided to indulge in his favorite pastime: "Harry Hunting." The small boy backed away slowly until his back hit the glass of the python tank. The large snake stirred, finally interested in its surroundings. Dudley stalked closer, loving the scared gleam in his cousin's eyes.

"Don't come any closer!" Harry yelped as Dudley glanced around him. The rest of the Reptile House was nearly empty. The python cocked its head in confusion. The human-boy had spoken in fear. Why was he afraid of the other boy? With his slicked back blonde hair, he was hardly intimidating; it was only when you looked at his clenched fists that you could understand the fear in the dark-haired boy.

Dudley sniggered at his small cousin and pulled back his fist. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see Vernon looking on happily. Harry shut his brown eyes and waited for the blow. It never came. Harry felt his skin tingle as if he had been electrocuted and Dudley's eyes widened. Behind Harry, the python slid closer.

When Harry's skin tingled, the glass in the python tank had disappeared. Dudley's eyes shone as he seized Harry around the neck. Starved as he was, Harry was no burden as Dudley threw him into the python tank.

The python hissed in surprise as a small boy was thrown on its long coils. The snake looked back at the large boy as he started prodding the snake angrily. The python hissed and wrapped around Harry protectively. He didn't want his snakeling to be hit by the blonde boy. The python looked at Harry in confusion: why didn't his snakeling have scales? Why were his eyes a deep brown? Pythons didn't have brown eyes. The snake rubbed his triangular head against Harry's cheek and opened its mouth. His teeth slid into Harry's neck and his snakeling opened its eyes. The python hissed happily as Harry's brown eyes turned an acid green.

Vernon growled in his throat. He had charitably taken his nephew to the zoo with them and this was how he was repaid? His idiot of a nephew went and fell into the snake pit! Vernon conveniently forgot his son's involvement as the freak opened his eyes to look at the snake wrapped around him. There was sure to be a news article, and the Dursleys couldn't afford for Harry to show up at the hospital with a tropical snake bite and badly set broken bones.

Dudley smirked as the python wrapped around Harry tighter in a protective shroud. To him, it looked as if the snake was squeezing the small boy. The only part of Harry he could see was his shock of black hair. As Vernon thundered over, it was Harry's black hair that he grabbed a hold of.

Both Vernon and Dudley pulled on Harry as the snake wound tighter. The only other person in the Reptile House fainted as the python snapped at Vernon angrily. This meat-man was trying to take his snakeling! The python licked at Harry's cheek as Vernon pulled the boy further from the python. Harry shut his now-green eyes as he passed out.

The large man now had Harry out until his waist. Dudley grabbed Harry's arm, smiling broader when his harsh pulling forced Harry's arm from the socket. The python looked on in agony as his snakeling was torn from his grasp.

Harry came around as he heard Vernon yelling something. _What was Vernon saying?! Had he missed an order?!_ Harry opened his eyes and looked up at Vernon from the floor of the Reptile House. He thought he saw a smear of red over his uncle's skin, but it disappeared as he blinked his eyes. Everything looked fuzzy, but he still had his glasses on. Even with the blur around him, Harry could see the murderous look on his uncle's face. His stomach knotted in dread and his heart beat faster. The python hissed angrily as his snakeling became frightened.

_Ssstupid man! Ssstay back!_

Harry's eyes widened as he heard the snake hiss angrily: he had understood! He gulped and looked back at the python.

_Fear not, Sssnake. The marksss don't lassst long._

Vernon stared down at the freak. "Hiss at me will you? Come along Dudley: we have a special present for the freak at home."

Harry sat in the dark of with his knees curled up to his chin. The dark of the cupboard was comforting after his "present." Harry touched his bruised face tenderly and bit back a gasp.

_Flashback_

_Vernon and Dudley strong-armed him out to the car and Dudley squirmed in his seat as they drove home in silence. His uncle pulled the car into the garage and turned off the engine. The garage door slid down behind them and Harry was again hidden from view. No one even knew there was another child in the Dursley house, and his relatives worked hard to secure that illusion._

_Petunia opened the door to the house and Vernon walked through it, followed by Dudley._

"_Boy!" Vernon bellowed as Harry hesitated. "Boy" ran into the house and stared at the floor._

"_Pet," Vernon addressed his wife, "Boy was very bad today. He was even bitten by an animal! Shouldn't he be treated like an animal?" Petunia nodded and Dudley clapped his hands in glee._

"_Well, Boy, you heard me." Vernon whispered. Harry chanced a look at his Uncle, terrified at his calm tone. Vernon smiled and looked at his son._

"_Don't you have a cage from your last dog, Dudley?"_


	2. Chapter 2

The cupboard under the stairs in number 4 Privet Drive held one mouse, seven spiders, three dust bunnies, one box of holiday decorations, and one very small boy. Harry sat in the darkness with his knees tight against his chest as he heard Dudley stomping around upstairs as he got ready to go to the movies with his friends. Aunt Petunia was puttering around in the kitchen, and Harry wasn't sure what Uncle Vernon was doing. That was never good: he never knew what to expect when he couldn't hear Vernon.

As Harry hid in the safety of his cupboard, Vernon sat in the living room, pondering over what he thought of as the "Potter Situation." Dudley would probably help him take care of the boy, and since the neighbors had no idea the boy even _existed_, the Dursley family would get away scot-free. Vernon smiled to himself as he thought of a future without Potter: and it looked like _such_ a nice future…Petunia called him for dinner and he lumbered into the kitchen. A platter of roast beef sat on the table, along with mashed potatoes, corn, and a crock of gravy. On the counter, he saw a tray of dinner rolls, and a pie. Vernon sighed as he noticed the absence of Dudley's portion of the food. His little boy was growing up into a man; living his own life. He would leave their home in a few years, but he would always be welcome here…unlike that freak under the stairs. Vernon grumbled to himself at the thought of Harry. They had kept him locked in the dog kennel for a few days. Petunia would give him water occasionally, with a straw placed through the bars. Dudley found it highly amusing to kick the cage, and he had laughed for hours after Harry wet himself inside the cage after 3 days. Petunia had complained that it would start to smell, but Vernon left him in there for a few more hours after that. The little freak had to learn his lesson, right? So, he made him sit in his mess for a while, then let him out of the cage to go shower and change his clothing. After that, Harry went right back into his cupboard, where he wouldn't bother the rest of the family with his presence.

They had thought about getting rid of Harry before, because Vernon didn't want to keep paying for all the food Harry ate. He thought that a scrap of bread and an apple every few days was more than generous. But, if they got rid of Harry, then who would take care of the house? Petunia was much too busy with her social obligations, and Dudley was a boy, not a maid. So, they had kept Harry around, though they found reason to yell at him every so often. After all: it's not like he was _family_.

* * *

Underneath the stairs, Harry sat quietly. His ribs and face were aching from where they had hit the metal of the dog kennel. Whenever Dudley had kicked the cage, the whole contraption would rattle and shake, and since it was so small, all of the rattling and shaking had rattled and shaken him too. He had a large bruise on his cheek and his chest tightened painfully whenever he inhaled. He sat there in the darkness and desperately tried not to cry as Dudley ran down the stairs, sending a shower of dust over Harry's head. It only seemed to add insult to injury that on top of being covered in bruises, he now had dust in his eyes too.

* * *

Dudley strutted into the kitchen happily. He'd convinced Phoebe, a girl in his maths class, to go out with him tonight. He'd bought a new outfit and showered earlier on in the day so he'd have time to get ready before going to meet her at the movies. He had a smart pair of black trousers on and a button up shirt. Unfortunately, the black trousers made it look like he'd stepped into a garbage bag, and the buttons on the shirt were straining to keep all of his fat packed in. Of course, his mother thought he looked precious, and he couldn't help but agree with her. Dudley grabbed a quick piece of pie off the counter and smirked to himself as his father grumbled.

"Duddy-kins, if you want to bring this girl over, of course, we would love to meet her." Petunia said happily. She was incredibly proud that a girl had agreed to go out with her son, and she wanted to document the event with a new picture to hang up on the wall. She could get Harry to hang it up tomorrow, right next to the others that followed Dudley through his childhood. Well, first she would have to convince Vernon to let him out, but she had another pie in the fridge that should do the trick.

* * *

Up in Gryffindor Tower, Ron and Neville were playing a game of chess while Hermione read silently. The fire crackled cheerily in the grate and the other members of Gryffindor talked quietly. The night was winding down and soon they would head up to bed. As the boys climbed into their beds, neither of them commented on the empty bed that had been there since first year. There had never been another student to sleep there, so they usually threw their cloaks there, or just grabbed the extra pillows when they needed them for ammo against Fred and George in a pillow fight. The bed had been empty since they had been in the tower, but no one bothered to ask the house elves to remove the extra bed.

* * *

As Vernon finished his dinner, Petunia placed her hand on his pudgy arm.

"Let him out tonight; he needs to clean the kitchen and do the laundry. You're running out of shirts to wear this week." Petunia said snobbily. She didn't care if the boy ever came out of his cupboard; she just didn't want to do the work he usually did. Harry had had enough of a break these past few days, and Petunia figured it was high time for him to start earning his keep. After all, those freaks had left the boy with her family, and they'd never come back for him. At least he wasn't freakish enough to go to that freak school of theirs. Well, Petunia would count her blessings when she could. If the boy had gone to that school, then people would start to wonder why he was so small, and why he got sick so often. They would start to wonder why his clothing was in tatters and he never had new things. They would start to wonder why his back was covered in scars, and why he was so terrified of his only living family…

So, yes, Petunia was _very_ glad that that freak wasn't off with the other freaks.

Who else would do the laundry?

* * *

Back at that Freak School, as Petunia Dursley called it, Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his office. His lemon drops were close at hand in a brightly colored container, and his licorice wands were in a cup holder with his quills. Every once and a while, he would mix the two up, but that's a story for another day. Right now, Albus was troubled by something. He couldn't quite remember what, but he knew he'd forgotten something. All of the first years were asleep in their dormitories, and the school was closed up for the night. There had not been any major disciplinary problems today, so he wasn't forgetting about something like that. Neville had blown something up in Potions today, but who's perfect at everything? People would be jealous if their hero was perfect…it was good that the boy had some flaws. He was adequate enough at his other classes, and his fame more than made up for any blunders he made in _Potions_ class. Albus chuckled to himself; Potions class…ah…to be young again. His left hand played with his beard absentmindedly as he ate another lemon drop and worked on his paper work. As he reached for a quill to write with, he chuckled again as he grabbed a licorice candy by mistake.

When he finished his work, Albus still mulled over what he had forgotten. Maybe the upcoming holiday? After all, Halloween was very important at Hogwarts…

Halloween….His eyes widened as he thought of _that particular_ holiday. Of the horrors of a Halloween nearly 16 years ago…and of a little boy that was orphaned. Not just one little boy, but _two_.

* * *

**In case there's any confusion: Ron, Hermione, Neville, and the gang are in their 5****th**** year. Harry is 15 and still at the Dursley's. Thought I should clear that up if anyone was confused… **

**This seemed like a decent place to stop it, but if you want longer chapters before I post, let me know. **


	3. Chapter 3

Harry was still in the dark of his cupboard when Dudley came home from his date. Hopefully, the larger boy wouldn't thrash him in a celebratory beating or anything, because his ribs still ached from the half week he had spent in the dog kennel. His stomach had growled angrily when he'd smelled the food earlier, but he was far too pessimistic to think that he'd get any of it. Mostly, he prepared large abundances of food at a time, and put the surplus in the icebox in the garage with heating instructions carefully taped to the Tupperware lids. Then, in situations like these, when he didn't have the option of preparing them, Petunia would place them in the oven, and presto—Harry-made dinner, ready to be devoured. Again, his small stomach clenched sadly at the thought of another food-less day. The water that Petunia gave him would slosh around inside his stomach, trying to soothe the empty spaces. But of course, not enough water in all of Britain could satisfy the hunger of a teenage boy that hadn't eaten for more than a week.

* * *

Dumbledore was in shock. How could he have forgotten about the Potter boy? James and Lily had been very influential people, and forgetting about their orphaned son could ruin him. The entire wizarding world would turn against him. After all; only a few hours difference, and it could have been Harry instead of Neville.

Both boys had been orphaned that night, but like the majority of their world, he had forgotten about little Harry. The small boy had been pushed aside in favor of the Boy Who Lived. Voldemort had been defeated, and the people wanted a hero, not a martyr. Maybe it was better that they had forgotten about Harry. This way, Dumbledore would have a much easier time covering up his mistake. He could say anything he wanted to, and the boy would be so happy that magic was real, he would forget all about his birthright to it in the first place. Harry had been with muggles all this time: it would be very easy to astonish the boy with a few brightly colored spells.

Dumbledore stroked his beard thoughtfully. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all…

* * *

Harry sighed again heavily. Ever since he had been bitten by the snake, things seemed to become steadily stranger. The mice in the cupboard seemed very loud, and his nose hurt when Petunia made dinner. His senses were much more alert, and he seemed to be constantly ready for danger. Of course, growing up the way he did almost made the last one unnoticeable.

As another spider dropped from the ceiling, his eyes tracked its movements. He watched as it spun gossamer threads in a spiraling pattern. He extended his hand slowly toward the spider and its web. As his fingers touched the ghostly strands, the spider meandered its way over to him. The crack of light coming in through the bottom of the door illuminated the scene dimly. The spider crawled over his index finger and walked down toward the base of his fingers. It waltzed its way toward the back of his hand as he raised his hand toward his face. When his hand was level with his eyes, Harry looked at the spider closely. Before he even knew what he was doing, he'd stuck out his tongue and brought the spider into his mouth. He swallowed quickly, as the spider tasted of an amazing dinner, complete with complex flavors and tastes. His taste buds exploded as the exquisite taste of the spider sang to him. He closed his eyes in bliss and leaned against the wall of the cupboard. _Mmmm_…he caught himself thinking. _Wait…__**ew**__! Oh, gross, gross, gross! I just ate a spider!_ **And you liked it**, a part of his brain said. _What's happening to me?_

Harry sat in the cupboard quietly. At least he wasn't hungry anymore…part of him shuddered at the thought of eating a spider, while another part of him wondered over the fact that a small spider filled him up as much as a full meal would. He shook his head, and leaned against the wall again.

* * *

Dumbledore boarded the train from Hogsmead to London. It was time to go get Harry. Normally, he would have just Apparated to Harry's home, but this way, he would have more time to think of a solution. As usual, Dumbledore liked to make a dramatic entrance…

* * *

Petunia was fuming. Not just her regular, passive aggressive anger, but full out _angry_. That little twat that Dudley had gone on a date with turned out to be using him. Apparently, the little bitch had a _bet _going with her friends.

No one made a fool of a Dursley.

When Duddykins had gotten home, he had simply walked over to the staircase, and proceeded to kick the cupboard door in. Vernon pulled Harry out by the hair as the boy scrambled and thrashed. Dudley covered the boy's mouth with his hands as the boy started to scream. Petunia looked on happily as Vernon stripped the boy down to his boxers and tied him to one of the kitchen chairs. Of course, she had covered it in plastic wrap first; couldn't have the filth touching her furniture after all…

* * *

Harry had been sitting in his cupboard silently, waiting for Dudley to get home. He was thinking of his multiplication tables as he waited. By the time he got to 9 times 13, the front door slammed shut and Dudley was thundering over to his cupboard. _Guess the date didn't go well._ Harry was unceremoniously ripped from the darkness of his cupboard and Vernon began removing his clothes. Harry started to panic as Vernon and Dudley carried him into the kitchen. All 3 of his relatives tied him to a kitchen chair and Harry looked at them in shock.

"Why are you doing this?" he screamed desperately. Petunia sneered at him.

"You deserve it, Boy." She said angrily. "Little freak!" she spat at him. Harry turned to look at Vernon.

"I did everything for you people! You're my family!" Harry cried. Vernon waved a meaty finger at him, "See, Boy, that's where you're wrong. You will _never_ be part of this family."

Dudley was snickering off to the side as Petunia giggled happily. Vernon meanwhile, was more occupied with the small boy tied to the chair. He'd been waiting for this for a long time.

* * *

**A/N**

Sorry if this seems short... It came out to 4 pages in Microsoft Word...

In the coming chapter, Dudmbledore shows up, and Harry is brought to Hogwarts. Draco might also make an appearance...


	4. Chapter 4

That fateful Halloween night had started out normally. James and Lily were preparing for trick or treating children, and Lily had just put Harry down for a nap before all the excitement. Sirius and Remus would be coming over later in the night to help celebrate, but Peter was busy at the Ministry tonight. After all, it was war time, and the world didn't stop turning for a holiday.

* * *

As Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange crucioed the Longbottoms into insanity, Peter, Lucius Malfoy, and Antonin Dolohov made their way to the Potter home. After brutally incapacitating James and Lily, Lucius went to check on Harry while Peter and Antonin remained in the kitchen. Voldemort had ordered that Harry be brought to his headquarters. He believed Neville to be the child of the prophecy, but he would raise Harry as his heir. The Prince of Darkness… he shivered at the name. Harry would be the one to carry on his legacy, the one to slaughter muggle lovers and those with filthy blood. And let's not forget Dumbledore… The Dark Lord had a special plan set aside for him.

* * *

As the sun set, Remus and Sirius made their way to James and Lily's home, never expecting to encounter what lay in wait. Peter and Antonin tied them to chairs in the kitchen as Lucius made his way back downstairs. He pulled a small vial from an inner pocket of his robes that Severus had given him earlier, full of a highly experimental potion. As he force fed it to Remus and Sirius, he couldn't help but smile as their eyes misted over, and their jaws grew slack. He crouched down in front of them and spoke very slowly. "I want you to listen to me very carefully. Lily and James are _dead_. Someone broke into their home, and _stole_ from them. The robbers were muggles. There is absolutely _no_ use in trying to find the muggles responsible. You will convince Dumbledore of this. In the chaos, Dumbledore will _forget_ about Harry. You will not question him, because Harry does not exist. There never was a Harry. James and Lily never had a child; Lily delivered a stillborn. Harry does not exist. Do you understand?" Remus and Sirius nodded vacantly. Lucius waved his hand dramatically, and all pictures of Harry were removed from the house. The baby furniture and toys were incinerated as the deatheaters climbed the stairs to retrieve Harry.

* * *

When the potion wore off, Remus and Sirius were still tied to the chairs in the kitchen. Sirius had a large cut on his head the was bleeding sluggishly and Remus looked around groggily. The kitchen was ransacked. The room slowly spun into focus as the men connected what had happened. Remus freed himself first and quickly untied Sirius. They ran into the living room and found James first. Remus burst into tears as Sirius firecalled Dumbledore to tell him what had happened.

* * *

After Lucius learned of Voldemort's destruction, he carried Harry to the nearest muggle orphanage as quickly as possible. Now that the Dark Lord was gone, he had to sever all ties to the dark arts as quickly as possible before the aurors started asking questions after the celebrations. If he were to keep Harry, he'd be in Azkaban faster than you could say 'magic'. By the time the sun rose, 2 families had been irrevocably changed. Neville Longbottom had been hailed as the Boy Who Lived, and Harry Potter would soon be placed with his last remaining relatives by muggle Social Services. After all, his future depended on the senility of a very old wizard, or the most corrupt of Voldemort's inner circle.

His prospects were not looking very good.


	5. note

First and foremost, I am incredibly sorry for the long periods between chapters. **Stories will continue to be updated in the coming future.**

I was diagnosed with a serious medical problem a few months ago, and the medication I take now makes it very hard for me to attach myself to my stories the way that I used to. I had to have sensors hooked up to my head by a neurologist and they discovered that I had been having seizures almost constantly while I was sleeping, and nearly every 10 minutes when I was awake. No one had ever detected it before because I never displayed any outside symptoms beside headaches.

Now the medication that I take essentially makes the electrical connections in my brain run differently, and I'm not used to it yet, even after almost 4 months.

My brain is used to functioning in the most complicated way possible, due to massive amounts of scar tissue. Signals would be sent, get half way to a destination, then be stopped by scar tissue, and have to find an alternate route. The best way to explain my condition is to compare it to someone watching tv, and clicking through the channels rapidly, and not focusing on the picture. I can see what's changing, but I couldn't tell you what I was watching: if it was a sports program, a cooking show, etc. You could ask me what I was doing, and I wouldn't be able to tell you. I would have to look down, and reinterpret what I was doing. Now, with the medication, it forces my brain to slow down and focus on the picture. I'm still not watching the program, but my brain can now interpret what I'm seeing. The only way for me to solve the problem of my seizures is to undergo extensive brain surgery, which is not recommended for my age (18), the location of my scar tissue, or the amount of scar tissue I have (a lot).

I will be on medication for the rest of my life, because I can't have the surgery without a high level of risk. I thank you for your understanding. **All of my stories will continue to be updated when I have time.**


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